


Birthday Tradition

by hostclubmanager17



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Birthday, Birthday Presents, First Kiss, Light Angst, M/M, Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi Friendship, Tsukishima Kei is Bad at Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:40:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22373506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hostclubmanager17/pseuds/hostclubmanager17
Summary: Every year, one week before Yamaguchi's birthday, Tsukishima asks him an important question
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 19
Kudos: 380





	Birthday Tradition

Yamaguchi had been waiting for this moment for days now, ever since his mom flipped the calendar in the kitchen over to the month of November. As always, the tenth had been circled with a black pen, his mother’s elegant scrawl printed neatly within the box: ‘Tadashi’s 15th birthday’. But there was one other day in November that Yamaguchi was excited for, one that made him beam throughout the day when he was younger and this year gave him a stomach full of butterflies.

The day in question was November 3rd, exactly one week before his birthday, which also happened to be today. Yamaguchi was currently sitting in his bedroom, lounging on the floor with his and Tsukishima’s homework spread out on the table in front of him. It was dark outside his bedroom window, twilight having come and gone while Tsukishima was taking a shower. As Yamaguchi dutifully packed their papers away, and started preparing for bed, his excitement levels took a swift upswing.

The reason Yamaguchi was so excited was entirely Tsukishima’s fault, but it was for a good reason. With their bedtime looming ever closer, Yamaguchi knew that he was about to be asked a “very important” question by his best friend.

It had become a sort of tradition between the two of them, one of the few that Tsukishima started and carried on himself. Every year since they had become friends, without fail, Tsukishima always asked Yamaguchi what he wanted for his birthday a week beforehand right before Yamaguchi went to bed. That first year Tsukishima had asked him in the middle of a movie during a sleepover. At first, Yamaguchi had only assumed that Tsukishima was asking in an effort to keep Yamaguchi awake, or maybe out of polite curiosity. So, brain addled from sleepiness and the drop from his recent soda high, he had answered honestly that he wanted a new bicycle. Tsukishima had hummed in disinterest, and Yamaguchi thought that was the end of it.

The last thing he had expected was for Tsukishima to show up a week later at his doorbell, one hand shoved into his coat pocket and the other holding onto a brand new bicycle. Yamaguchi had done nothing but stare for the first fifteen minutes, unable to process the bright red paint and white bow on the handlebars, let alone Tsukishima shyly mumbling a ‘Happy Birthday’ through his scarf.

Looking back, Yamaguchi regarded the memory fondly and he always smiled when Tsukishima’s mother or older brother brought it up to make his blush and act more sullen than usual. Of course, at the time, Yamaguchi had been mortified that his new friend had spent so much on his birthday gift, especially when Yamaguchi had only given Tsukishima a little action figure and a card with a dinosaur on the front for  _ his _ birthday. Later, after he had been told that Tsukishima had coordinated the whole thing with both of their parents and the gift was technically from the whole Tsukishima family, Yamaguchi had relaxed enough to properly gush over the thoughtful gift.

It also helped that Tsukishima had blushed horribly throughout the following week whenever Yamaguchi thanked him for it.

As the years went by and Tsukishima continued the cycle, Yamaguchi had become careful to only ask for things he wanted that weren’t extremely expensive. He knew better than to tell Tsukishima he didn’t want anything, because then the blond would go to Yamaguchi’s parents and ask them instead. Besides, it was sweet. It was one of the ways Tsukishima showed just how much he cared about Yamaguchi, and it had been one of the few things they did together that had survived their bump from childhood.

In the present day, Yamaguchi was fidgeting with nervous energy. He finished unfolding Tsukishima’s futon and layered three blankets on top of it, since Tsukki always complained about Yamaguchi’s house being super cold at night, then crawled into bed to wait. With his legs crossed and phone in hand, Yamaguchi half-heartedly scrolled through YouTube as he waited for Tsukki to come back. His heart pounded in his chest and the beginnings of a cold sweat was starting to develop along the back of his neck.

Yamaguchi had been waiting for this exact moment ever since he decided to do something about his crush on his best friend. He was going to do it. He was going to confess. When Tsukishima asked him what he wanted, Yamaguchi was going to ask for a kiss. And since Tsukishima knew that Yamaguchi knew that Yamaguchi was asking for something directly from Tsukishima…

Well, Yamaguchi had faith in his ridiculously smart best friend.

He bounced his knee, trying to contain himself. Was Tsukki taking longer just to mess with him? He never took such long showers at night. That thought suddenly triggered the mental image of Tsukishima in the shower, and how he might react if Yamaguchi suddenly poked his head into the room to tease him for taking too long. 

With his face now a burning red, Yamaguchi wasn’t surprised when his bedroom door opened, revealing Tsukishima in his pajamas rubbing at his wet hair with a vengeance. It was like Tsukishima had some uncanny ability to sense whenever Yamaguchi was embarrassed, and  _ that _ was when he knew to show up.

Thankfully, as it was, Tsukishima’s entire head was covered with his bath towel, the blond rubbing harshly at his hair. Yamaguchi sucked in a breath and turned away, plugging his phone into the charger as Tsukishima made his way to his futon and sat down on it. After another quick ruffle, the blond sighed and pulled the damp towel off. Balling it up, he tossed it at the laundry basket by Yamaguchi’s closet. The towel sailed through the air, unraveling instantly before flopping halfway in and out of the basket.

Tsukishima let out a dissatisfied huffed as Yamaguchi laughed.

“Wow. So much for the basketball team!”

Tsukishima rolled his eyes, falling backwards onto his pillow and removing his glasses. “What was that? I’ve suddenly lost all ability to hear.”

“Maybe if you had tried serving the towel?”

“How curious. All I can hear is the ringing of little bells. I must’ve listened to my music too loudly.”

“Oh, but you can’t aim your serves yet, can you Tsukki?”

“Shut up, Yamaguchi.”

“Sorry, Tsukki.”

Yamaguchi beamed at his friend, and he was rewarded with a side eye and brief smirk. In the back of his head, Yamaguchi wondered how other people could ever take their banter as Tsukishima being genuinely mean.

They smiled at each other for another moment before Tsukishima let loose a big, loud yawn, arms stretching out above his head. Yamaguchi glanced up at Tsukishima’s hands, noting how his pajama sleeves only reached his mid-forearm. He must’ve had another growth-spurt.

Tsukishima’s arms suddenly dropped back down to his side and he rolled over. “All jokes aside, I’m dead tired. Don’t wake me up unless the house is burning down. Goodnight.”

Yamaguchi’s smile froze on his face for a split second before it dropped. He stared at Tsukishima for a long time, waiting for him to turn back around and offer Yamaguchi that smug smile, teasing him for thinking that he could’ve actually forgotten. But Tsukishima didn’t roll over. In fact, he didn’t move at all.

Yamaguchi opened his mouth.

Closed it.

They stayed like that for quite a long time until Tsukishima’s breathing evened out and Yamaguchi’s back started to ache from the awkward position. Slowly easing himself to lay down, Yamaguchi stared at the back of Tsukishima’s head for another ten seconds before turning off his bedside lamp.

“Goodnight…”

* Time Skip *

Yamaguchi had woken up Sunday morning expecting Tsukishima to ask him then, once he wasn’t so tired. He didn’t. He didn’t ask Yamaguchi on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday either. Now it was Thursday, and Tsukishima still hadn’t fixed his mistake.

Yamaguchi was tempted to just ask him outright if he had forgotten, but something always stopped him. Whether it was Tsukishima cutting him off, or practice and school getting in the way, or because Tsukishima was talking to someone else, there was never a good moment for Yamaguchi to spring such an intimate question.

But was it really intimate? It was just Tsukishima asking Yamaguchi what he wanted for his birthday. It really wasn’t that big of a deal, but it had always felt like one. After all, Tsukishima wasn’t the easiest person to get along with, mostly because of his own choosing. Yamaguchi had always known he was the exception to Tsukishima’s choice of social solitary.

Only now, Yamaguchi had to wonder if being the “exception” was more being the only option. Maybe it was because he had been keeping an unusually close eye on the time Tsukishima spent away from him this past week, but Yamaguchi couldn’t help but notice how Tsukishima was talking to everyone on the team… except him. Even the people Tsukishima usually avoided like Nishinoya, Tanaka, and Kageyama were suddenly pulled into one-on-one conversations with the tall blond, and it didn’t even look like he was insulting them.

Yamaguchi’s heart felt heavy, which made him feel incredibly guilty. Who was he to be jealous of his best friend talking to other people? How many times had he encouraged Tsukishima to step a little out of his comfort zone and maybe find some other friends? And Yamaguchi liked their teammates, too! He had no right to suddenly want to hoard his best friend all to himself just because he was taking up his advice!

But the thing was… there were times when Yamaguchi thought that maybe they could be more than best friends. At the very least, he had wanted them to be. He had struggled with his crush on Tsukishima for over a year now, and since they were now in high school and college was coming up faster than they knew it, Yamaguchi finally felt confident enough to actually take that next step. It helped that Tsukishima seemed to like Yamaguchi like that, too. The signs were small, but Yamaguchi felt that he knew Tsukishima well enough to read between the lines, such as when he offered Yamaguchi bites of his favorite cake when they decided to splurge on sweets.

It might not seem like much, but it was enough. Enough for Yamaguchi to hope that, maybe, Tsukishima felt the same way.

But as Yamaguchi watched Tsukishima walk away at the end of the night, claiming his mother wanted him to eat dinner at home which meant he couldn’t hang out at Yamaguchi’s, he thought bitterly,  _ It must have just been me. _

* The Next Day *

On the eve of his birthday, Yamaguchi felt utterly drained. He had already gone through a full day of school sandwiched between intensive volleyball practice, and right now all he wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep for 48 hours. His birthday be damned.

Instead, however, he was sitting in a McDonald’s dining booth, as an apology from Tsukishima for bailing on him the night before. Yamaguchi had agreed to go, but was starting to regret the decision. Tsukishima wasn’t making conversation, and for once Yamaguchi didn’t have the drive to try and start one. Instead he used his energy to chew through his fries one by one like he wanted them to suffer slowly. But he couldn’t keep his demonstration of what he wanted to do to Tsukishima’s head up for long, because his appetite was also oddly low. In fact, by the time Yamaguchi pushed his tray away, he noticed he had actually eaten less than Tsukishima, which was definitely saying something.

But if he was hoping that his friend would  _ finally _ catch on to his bad mood and say something about it, he was sorely mistaken. Tsukishima had been messing with his phone for the whole meal, barely giving Yamaguchi a glance. Another change in his behavior that left a sour taste in the back of Yamaguchi’s mouth.

_ So much for an apology. _

Yamaguchi eventually had enough, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and standing up. “I’m done. Let’s go.”

“Alright.”

If Tsukishima noticed how Yamaguchi threw away most of his fries rather than scarfing them down like usual, he didn’t say anything. In fact, they were both silent as they started walking down the street. The McDonald’s they frequented wasn’t very far from either of their houses, so it didn’t take long before they reached their usual parting intersection. For the first time since he and Tsukishima became friends, Yamaguchi found himself looking forward to reaching said intersection. It wasn’t odd for Tsukishima to keep quiet during their late night walks, but this felt different. It didn’t feel like Tsukishima was with him at all.

Still, right before Tsukishima turned away, hands already reaching for his headphones, Yamaguchi found it within him to try one last time.

“Are you still coming over tomorrow?”

He held his breath as Tsukishima paused, glancing over his shoulder. His eyebrows were up, as if he was surprised. Yamaguchi could already hear Tsukishima’s response, about how  _ of course _ he was coming over for Yamaguchi’s birthday, why had he felt the need to ask?

“Oh, I forgot to mention. I’m going to be busy tomorrow with something. I’ll see you in the afternoon, though, I think.”

And that was that. Tsukishima nodded in farewell before pulling on his headphones and walking off, hands in his pockets. Completely unaware of the tears gathering in the corner of Yamaguchi’s eyes.

* Time Skip *

The following morning, Yamaguchi woke up to a flurry of text messages. Face still half buried in his pillow, Yamaguchi blearily scrolled through them all. There were plenty from the team and a few from his various relatives that lived further south, but not a single peep from Tsukishima. Placing the phone back down Yamaguchi rolled over and pulled the blankets up to his ears. He felt so exhausted. Not just because he had cried until he had fallen asleep last night.

He wasn’t allowed to wallow for very long though. A few minutes later his mother was at his door, sweetly cooing a happy birthday and letting him know that breakfast was ready. Yamaguchi didn’t have the heart to tell her he felt too sick to his stomach to eat, so instead he quietly followed her to the kitchen. Yamaguchi’s father was already sitting at the table, which had been set with a spread of Yamaguchi’s favorite breakfast food: Pancakes. One whiff had Yamaguchi’s stomach rumbling and he sat down without complaint.

His mother’s cooking and the cheerful banter between him and his parents was enough to put a small smile on Yamaguchi’s face. So long as he didn’t think too hard about Tsukishima not being there. Once the food was gone and the table cleared away, his parents handed over their birthday gift to him. It was the new Pokémon game he had been geeking out about since its first public announcement. He smiled gratefully at the gift, but on the inside his heart burned.

It was a wonderful gift, but it was also a reminder of what started his road to his current heartbreak.

Doing his best to swallow the bitter feeling down, Yamaguchi smiled again at his parents and went to excuse himself. Maybe he could lose himself in video games long enough to forget about Tsukishima’s odd absence for a while. Before he could escape, however, his father started hastily digging through his pants pockets.

“Wait! We have one last thing for you.” His father pulled out a single scrap piece of paper and held it out for him to take, giving a wink as he did so. “You might want to change out of your pajamas, though.”

“Why?” Yamaguchi peered down at the note curiously.

“Because you have somewhere to be.”

Yamaguchi raised his eyebrows at his parents, both of whom looked far too excited for anything good to happen. Cautiously, he gave the paper a closer look. It was a small thing, clearly torn out of a lined notebook and folded into quarters. Yamaguchi could see the ink indentations from the outside. Quicking unfolding it, Yamaguchi’s eyes went comically wide when he immediately recognized the handwriting.

There were only two sentences on the paper:

_ I would never forget _

_ Come to the school gym _

Yamaguchi was dressed and running out the front door in 10 minutes, ignoring his parents laughing behind him. Thanks to the endurance training he’d suffered through the past couple months, he managed to run all the way to the school without needing to stop for a rest. But it also meant he arrived at the gym practically dry heaving, resting his forehead against the doors for a moment.

Over his heavy breathing, Yamaguchi faintly heard excited chatter from the other side of the doors. Nishinoya’s voice suddenly jumped above the clamor, calling out a question for Tsukishima which made Yamaguchi’s heart jolt in his chest. It was then that Yamaguchi realized two things. One, all the time Tsukishima had spent talking to their teammates this past week had probably been due to planning for this surprise. And two, Tsukishima had put up with their teammates more often than he was used to for Yamaguchi’s benefit.

With his breath now stuttering for a different reason, Yamaguchi donned a huge smile and knocked on the door three times. At once, the whispering inside the building turned into shouts of ‘he’s here’ and ‘Hinata, go stand on that side’ before abruptly stopping.

“Come in, Yamaguchi!”

He did as he was told, taking two steps inside before he was showered with confetti, a loud cheer of, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YAMAGUCHI,” coming from his team and two managers. There was little he could do but laugh and try to shake off both the confetti and Hinata, his friend having jumped onto his back as soon as he finished throwing the colored paper. As one, the rest of the team converged on the birthday boy, hands reaching out to ruffle his hair, pat his back, or hug him so tight he felt like his back would crack in half. Yachi and Shimizu were lingering on the outside, but every so often Yamaguchi saw Yachi’s blonde hair peeking through the other’s arms, her excited congratulations mixing with the other’s.

As he was jolted around, Yamaguchi caught a glimpse of a table set up nearby that had various presents set off to one side and what looked like a sheet cake on the other. And, right next to the table, separate from the boys smothering Yamaguchi with affection, was Tsukishima in all his smug glory.

Straightening up and sending Hinata to the floor, Yamaguchi shoved the others aside and stormed right up to Tsukishima. His friend merely raised an eyebrow as Yamaguchi approached, the laughter from the rest of the team trailing off a bit. 

When he was close enough, Yamaguchi wound up and launching a punch right in the middle of Tsukishima’s chest.

“You complete _ jerk! _ ”

Some of his teammates gasped, but Tsukishima merely grunted at the punch, still looking far too pleased with himself as he rubbed at the spot afterwards.

“You know, that’s not a nice thing to say to the person who planned your birthday party.”

“You’ve been ignoring me all week and pretending like you forgot about my birthday just to make it a surprise?”

“Maybe.”

“Ugh! You’re such a jerk!”

“You’ve said that already.”

“Just… you! You’re so frustrating!”

“If you’re really that upset, why are you smiling?”

Yamaguchi wrinkled his nose, but he was indeed smiling. Beaming, more accurately. Despite how upset he had been all week, he wasn’t really mad at Tsukishima. He was probably more relieved than anything that his friend hadn’t actually forgotten his birthday. And he had done all of this just for Yamaguchi. It made his heart flutter a bit in his chest. But before he could create a proper blush on his face or possibly do something even more embarrassing, he remembered that Tsukishima  _ had _ forgotten one thing.

“But… you still never asked me what I wanted for my birthday. You could’ve made the surprise party without making me think you actually  _ forgot _ , you know.”

“Maybe, but I was already getting you a present. Without needing to ask, this time.”

“What?”

“Ooh! Ooh!” Hinata came bounding over, followed by the others who looked just as excited. “Is it time?”

Tsukishima gave Yamaguchi a quick once over before nodding. Immediately Sugawara stepped up and nudged Yamaguchi in the side. “Come on, Birthday Boy. Follow me.”

His heart was pounding, but after one more glance at Tsukishima, Yamaguchi followed Suga to the middle of the court, where he was instructed to sit down. Feeling a little weird, he did so. The rest of the team moved to crowd around Yamaguchi in a loose circle, but a quick glance around made Yamaguchi realize Tsukishima wasn’t among them. The blond was walking towards the equipment room, and right as he reached the doors Sugawara once again appeared in Yamaguchi’s line of sight.

“Nu-huh. Turn around. Eyes closed.”

Yamaguchi frowned, but did as he was told, head tilted up with his hands in his lap. As he heard various giggles and whispers coming from his teammates, he wondered what his gift might be. Knowing Tsukishima, it would probably be something Yamaguchi had never considered asking for from his friend, although maybe he’d be a little more frugal since now their teammates would be witnessing the gift exchange? Tsukki always did insist he had a reputation to uphold.

That didn’t help to narrow down what he had gotten Yamaguchi, but from the sounds his teammates were now making, he was about to find out what it was very soon. Listening hard, Yamaguchi mentally followed his friend as Tsukishima walked across the room until he came to a stop in front of Yamaguchi.

“Keep your eyes closed, but hold out your hands.”

Yamaguchi raised an eyebrow, but once again obeyed the commands. Despite how he was trying to come off as unaffected and exasperated with all the pageantry, Yamaguchi honestly could barely breathe as he cupped his hands together. What could it be? What was-

Something wet touched his hands and he pulled back with a yelp. Laughter broke out around him and Tanaka suddenly called out, “No need to freak out, Yamaguchi! She’s just saying ‘Hi’!”

_ She… _

In an instant, Yamaguchi’s eyes were open and a small scream escaped him again. Tsukishima was crouched down in front of him, holding out a small, fuzzy, wiggling-

“Shiba!” With no hesitation Yamaguchi reached out and gently scooped the fuzz ball out of his friend’s arms, cooing and hugging the puppy to his chest. All at once he felt his new friend licking at his chin, wagging tail smacking at his arm. “Oh! Oh, you’re so fluffy! Oh my gosh! I’m going to cry! It’s… she’s really mine?”

“She’s all yours, Yamaguchi.” Tsukishima huffed before falling backwards to sit as well. Their teammates inched closer into a tight circle as he explained, “I know you really love dogs and you’ve always wanted one, so I talked to your parents about getting you one a month ago. Got the green light pretty quickly after that. They already have a dog bed and food and stuff at your house.”

“Ah!” Yamaguchi buried his face into the blond puppy fur, hoping it would muffle his crying enough that his teammates would just think he was laughing. Well, he was laughing. Just… in between the sobs. He had a puppy…  _ he had a puppy! _ Pulling back slightly because the puppy was trying to eat his hair, Yamaguchi wrestled her around until he could scratch at her belly.

Peeking up at Tsukishima through his wet eyelids, Yamaguchi asked, “Does she have a name yet?”

Immediately after the question, Tsukishima’s warm smile vanished and he turned his head away. Their teammates crowed in delight around them, so Yamaguchi knew he was in for a treat.

Juggling his puppy around yet again, Yamaguchi stretched out his right leg until he was able to nudge at Tsukishima’s shin. “What? What’s the name? You owe me after what you put me through this past week.”

Tsukishima slowly turned back to face him, though his eyes were directed firmly at the gym floor between them. His ears were red, which is what happened when it was really cold outside or when Tsukishima was embarrassed to the point of wanting to drop dead. Normally, Yamaguchi would’ve let up on his friend since they were surrounded by other people, but with the memory of crying to sleep the night before fresh in his mind, he pressed his toes a little harder against his friend’s leg.

Tsukki winced a little and shot a glare off to his right before mumbling something that was immediately overwhelmed by the puppy letting out a bark. Yamaguchi turned his head to the left and wasn’t surprised to see Sugawara sitting there, innocent smile on his face as he watched, chin propped up by his hands.

“Tsukki, I didn’t hear you.”

“I… her name is Hotaru.”

At the sound of her name, Hotaru let out another cute yap before slipping out of Yamaguchi’s limp arms. She wasted no time running around the circle of bodies, sniffing and barking and just genuinely having a good time with the humans showering her with love and affection.

And, while everyone else on the team was distracted by the puppy running around in circles on its tiny legs, none of them noticed how Yamaguchi was still staring at Tsukishima.

Except Tsukishima, who stared right back.

* Time Skip *

Yamaguchi collapsed backwards onto his bed, letting out a soft grunt as his head hit the pillow. After sitting on a hard gym floor for two hours then trying to keep up with a puppy on the walk home, he was sore and exhausted. So much for his day off.

“It seems like Hotaru is settling in well.”

Not quite ready to look at Tsukishima yet, Yamaguchi turned his head to the side, watching as Hotaru made her rounds of his bedroom, taking one cautious step at a time as she gave every little thing a good sniff. Next to the foot of Yamaguchi’s bed, with one side pressed against the wall, was a dog bed that was dark blue with paw prints embroidered along the edge. He and Tsukki watched silently as Hotaru gave the cushion the same harsh once over with her nose before carefully walking onto it and collapsing onto her side.

Yamaguchi giggled, unable to help himself. “Looks like someone’s all tuckered out.”

“Yeah. Like her owner, I guess.”

Yamaguchi looked up just in time for Tsukishima to sit down by his feet, nudging his legs to the side until there was enough room for him to draw his feet up. Realizing a conversation was on the horizon, Yamaguchi sat up himself, rubbing at the back of his head.

“Yeah… it’s been a long day. A long week, really.”

“Yamaguchi.” Tsukishima was back to staring at him, the corners of his mouth downturned as he regarded Yamaguchi. “Your mom mentioned to me downstairs that you… were crying last night?”

“Oh.”  _ Oh. _ “I guess I didn’t realize she heard me.”

Tsukishima’s mouth screwed up in a tense pout before he leaned forward, one hand slowly coming up to rest on Yamaguchi’s left knee. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I had hurt you that much.”

“No, Tsukki, it’s okay. Really. You were trying to surprise me.”

“But I still hurt you. A lot apparently.”

“Tsukki!” Yamaguchi was the one who leaned forward this time, both hands coming down to squeeze the hand still on his knee. “You just gave me the best present I’ve ever had in my entire life. That makes up for all the anxiety and insecurity I dealt with the past week. If anything, by giving me Hotaru, you proved and promised that you’ll never forget me. Thank you.”

The two didn’t move for a moment, Yamaguchi suddenly realizing how warm Tsukishima’s hand felt underneath his, and how easy it would be to turn it around and lace their fingers together all romantic like. His breath hitched right as Tsukishima suddenly cleared his throat.

“I wasn’t going to name Hotaru at first.”

“No?”

Tsukishima shook his head, his ears and cheeks reddening once again. “No. Sugawara convinced me. He said I shouldn’t be calling her ‘her’ and ‘it’ all the time, and I should just name her something I knew you would like.”

Yamaguchi felt like he was no longer breathing. Then Tsukishima met his eyes and he nearly passed out.

“I almost named her French Fry.”

The responding laugh Yamaguchi gave was not intentional. He quickly pressed a hand to his face, trying to choke it back and maybe regain the tension that had just been broken. Unfortunately, as soon as he peeked his eyes open and saw Tsukishima struggling not to laugh, they both lost it. Yamaguchi fell onto his side, clutching at his stomach while Tsukishima threw his head back.

It wasn’t until they heard a whining bark that they calmed down, both boys peering over the side of the bed to see Hotaru looking up at them, head tilted to the side all adorable-like. Yamaguchi snorted softly before rolling over to the edge and reaching down to scoop her up into his arms.

“Oh, sorry baby. Are we too loud for you to nap? Or were you just lonely?”

Hotaru gave another whine before she wiggled out of her owner’s arms, clumsily padded over the mussed blankets until she was in the far corner behind Tsukishima. With her tail to the boys, she flopped down onto her stomach with a soft ‘woof’. Yamaguchi held his breath for ten seconds so as not to start laughing again.

When he finally felt like the coast was clear, he grinned cheekily. “I see she’s just as sassy as you are Tsukki.”

“Shut up, Yamaguchi.”

“Sorry, Tsukki.” Yamaguchi stuck his tongue out before whispering, “It’s true though.”

Tsukishima glared at him for a moment before shrugging, leaning back on one hand while the other gently stroked down Hotaru’s back, making her tail wag. “Then it’s a good thing her owner is the only person alive who is willing to put up with her attitude.”

“I don’t just “put up” with you, Tsukki. You know that.”

Tsukishima gave a little grunt, but closed his eyes and didn’t argue. Yamaguchi gave a small sigh and stared at his friend, but he was only given a few moments to appreciate before Tsukishima gave a little jolt and opened his eyes again, hand stilling over the puppy.

“What were you going to ask for this year?”

“What?”

Tsukishima leaned forward, intense curiosity in his eyes. “Well, since I put you through all that emotional trauma, I might as well get you something to make up for it. I know you had something in mind, you were bouncing in your seat all through dinner a week ago.”

Yamaguchi felt his cheeks burn, suddenly put on the spot. And he knew that Tsukishima noticed this time, because his friend quirked an eyebrow and leaned forward a little more.

“Yamaguchi?”

“I… um…” Yamaguchi trailed off, gaze listing to the left until they stopped on Hotaru’s furry butt. All at once, the nerves vanished. He remembered how he felt walking into the gym earlier and seeing Tsukishima’s face. And again when Tsukishima told him Hotaru’s name, their matching kanji flashing behind Yamaguchi’s eyes.

“Yamaguchi? You okay?”

Yamaguchi straightened up and looked Tsukishima dead in the eye. His friend blinked at the sudden mood shift, but didn’t say anything.

“How about I just show you what I wanted?”

“Show me?”

Yamaguchi smiled softly and, before he could back out of it, leaned forward. With one hand pressing down on Tsukishima’s thigh and the other cradling his cheek, Yamaguchi pressed a quick kiss to the corner of Tsukishima’s mouth. The sharp intake of breath his friend whispered past Yamaguchi’s ear.

He only was allowed to pull back a little before Tsukishima was turning his head to catch Yamaguchi’s lips properly. They stayed there for a while, pressing too hard and backs quickly starting to ache from the awkward angle, but Yamaguchi loved every second of it. It wasn’t the perfect kiss, but they were kissing each other out of free will and if Yamaguchi had his way, they’d have many more chances in the future to get better at it.

Yamaguchi ended up pulling back first, not missing the way Tsukishima leaned forward with him before catching himself and pulling back with a much larger blush than before. Off in the corner of the bed, Hotaru stood up and gave herself a little shake. Yamaguchi watched, one of his hands still brushing over his lips in disbelief, as his puppy trotted over to him before crawling into his lap.

“So… how was your 15th birthday, Yamaguchi?”

He looked up, raising an eyebrow at Tsukishima’s uncharacteristically shy expression. “Are you my boyfriend now?”

“I assume so.” And the sass was back. “I wouldn’t just kiss just anyone, you know.”

That was enough for Yamaguchi to smile, slowly petting Hotaru’s soft ears. “Then this has been a  _ perfect _ birthday, Tsukki. Good luck topping this one next year.”

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all, I'm so late with this. But better late than never. Hope you enjoyed!


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